One day I was scrolling through the pages of gossip website and they posted an article about Kiran Gandhi, a Harvard Business School graduate, who completed a marathon in London without wearing a tampon.She wrote on her personal website that she did it for women who did not have access to tampons and for those hiding their painful cramps. She runs to say it does exist and we can overcome it everyday. She says her completion of the marathon will “transcend oppression”. Gandhi wants to end the stigma of menstrual periods.

After I finished reading the article I felt spent. I’m so sick and tired of feminist and women missing the mark on their missions to end oppression. First off, let me start by saying periods no longer hold the huge stigma they once held (in the US). Men are not locking women away in dark rooms for several days because they think their crops will sour because of menstruation. As a cashier I see men of all ages and backgrounds buying tampons, maxi pads and Midol for their wives, mothers, girlfriends, sisters and daughters all the time. (I remember my little brother carrying me upstairs because my menstrual cramps were so bad.) I even had a man ask me if tampon came in sizes for young adults. I had to laugh because not only of his ignorance but because he was at least trying. Very few people are disgusted by periods. (I remember one of my young male co workers said eww when I told my manager I had cramps and needed to leave work. I wanted to turn around and tell him that I could tell he’s never had sex before based off his expression.Grown men don’t use immature expressions to voice their opinions about menstrual cramps.)

Before this article I had read months ago that women were free bleeding and posting pictures on Instagram. What these idiots don’t understand is they are close to committing crimes if they are out in public. (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE BREAKFAST SIMMERING IN YOUR STOMACH FROM THIS MORNING DO NOT GOOGLE FREE BLEEDING IN PUBLIC!) Menstruation involves bodily fluids. In some states bodily fluids can be used as a weapon of assault and you can go to jail if you are HIV positive and don’t notify your sexual partner(s) of your health status. This is considered a form of assault. (I’m not accusing these free bleeders of having HIV but I do not want to come in contact with some other human being’s bodily fluids!)

As a woman who has painful periods I will say I’m not ashamed or ever have felt ashamed by society or men because of it. Maxipads and tampons are not tools of oppression made by men to shame or silence us. Our periods are a natural bodily function that expels bodily fluids. When a human expels bodily fluids of any kind they need to clean and sanitized for our health (we need to keep genital area clean with less moisture) and the general public’s health (people do not need to be exposed to others bodily fluids because of disease).

I read an additional article on Kiran Gandhi and her background. Being from India, women are still considered unclean when on their periods. I get that women in other countries are shamed because of menstruation BUT free bleeding is not going to help the cause.

You can end period stigma not by free bleeding or by posting pictures of your used tampons on Instagram or by making art with your period blood but by starting programs in schools and community centers that will discuss menstruation and male puberty in a healthy manner that will break stigmas and shame.

Also what really saddens me is most of these instagram feminist who free bleed are college educated and should know basic health and sanitation by now. It’s great you want to take the stigma out of menstruation but you can do it without become a health hazard to the general public.

For the longest time I’ve been wanting to write about my feelings of BLM movement. The reason I’m writing these articles is to clear up my own misunderstandings of BLM and reeducate myself on what is happening in my community.

What is Black Lives Matters?

The organization was started after the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. The BLM websites states from the About Page that it “is a chapter-based national organization working for the validity of Black life…working to (re)build the Black liberation movement.” BLM works to end prejudice killings of black people from vigilantes and police through hashtag activism, protesting, and rallies.

The issues that many people have with BLM is the protesting tastics. In my opinion protesting itself is hit or miss. It all depends on where, why, and how that will make your protesting cause a success. Protesting against police brutality is important but how you protest and where can backfire and have the supporters that you want look at your cause in a negative way. Black Lives Matters has been looked at as being disruptive because some of their protest are disturbing business and interrupting other rallies and events.

A few months ago they protested Milo Yiannopoulous at Depaul University and a Trump Rally in Chicago. In my opinion protest like these are a waste of time and energy because the audience that they are protesting in front of already are set in their opinion about the movement and disrupting these events will cause opposer to use this as evidence for negative opinions that they already have about the organization.

This issues of BLM not having control over who represents them, like most social or political organizations, contributes to their shortcomings. A person can have radical views and distort the message of the organization because they can freely claim ties to said organization when they do something extreme in their name. It reminds me of a restaurant franchise. If one Wendy’s restaurant in the whole franchise got a F rating from the health department for roaches.Consumers will look at all Wendy’s for being bad. That’s not a problem that only BLM has but it for every movement and organization. Look at what people have done in the name of Christianity, Islam, Republican Party and Liberalism.

People also need to understand BLM is still young and with new organizations there are going to be a lot of mistakes made in the beginning but we should not give up on the organization for its missteps.

I give BLM a lot of credit because they were brave enough to at least start a dialogue about a police brutality and follow up with action.

An hour ago I went on a 30 minute burst jog. It was after 1:00 pm when my neighbors cars went driving by because church was ending at this time. One of the neighbors offered me a ride back to the house. I declined and let her know I was exercising. After she drove down the road, I started to think about what it means to be christian and what is the purpose of church. Sometimes I awake to the voice of Creflo Dollar playing in the next room. There a sermon on tithes and offering that he is famous for on his program. He once told his congregation that he wished he can take an ozzie gun and line up all the members of his church that did not tithe regularly and shot them. A couple of months ago he was in the news because he wanted his members to raise the funds to purchase a 65 million dollar Gulfstream G650 jet. He claims he needs it to spread God’s word.

I don’t know that much about pastoral duties but I do know you don’t need a 65 million dollar jet to spread the word of God. Jesus Christ and his disciplines walked in 100 degree weather to spread the word of God in times where there was no cops to police the roads, dangerous criminals and animals roamed free and your most basic necessity were dependant upon the kindness of strangers.

What does it mean to be a Christian especially in the changing word today? The world’s issues still have not changed. We still have poverty, homelessness, disease, war, famine and intolerance. The Church is suppose to cultivate support for the community. There are a lot of megachurches in the U.S but do they do anything? A lot of these megachurches can be used for shelters for the homeless. How many of these churches have good outreach programs for the community? You go to church for service and the church’s purpose is to serve the community. I somewhat understand Creflo Dollar when he get’s aggressive over church money because megachurches cost a lot of money to run. I can’t imagine what the electricity bill is like for the World Dome but Creflo Dollar generates a lot of money from books, dvd sales and other revenue other than tithe money. I wonder does he tithe his money into the church.

I ask myself what does God really want from us. What are the requirements to be a christian? I see what the stereotypical christian example like Ned Flanders and most of the cast from Moral Orel. I find it amusing that Christian are made fun of for their hypocrisy.(and righteously so) and not being able to follow their own rigorously rules when Jesus himself was called as a sinner by pharisees and sadducees, the teachers of the laws of Moses, when Jesus was greater than law and came to fulfill it.

On the other end we have people who throw around the expression “Only God can judge me” as a get out of jail card when it comes to sin without judgement from their fellow man. They seem to forget that when God judges, He judges and punishes justly and righteous.

And what are sins?

Everyone knows the obvious big sins of murder, theft, and adultery but even those have some loophole. (Killing in self-defense, stealing food because of poverty, marrying a divorced person counts as adultery)

Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sin and if we believe in Him then we are saved from damnation (hell) and are rewarded with eternal life (heaven). But what does it mean to believe? When you believe in something that belief saturates through your daily life and radiates out for the world to see. You don’t have tell people you’re a believer because they just know when they look at you. They can see it in your actions. I’m not talking about the stereotypical Ned Flanders but having and practicing a belief that comes from the heart.

I assume that’s what God wants. Honest devotion that comes from genuine belief that is practiced until it becomes as natural as breathing. I can truthfully say I am not there yet. My confidence in God has been shattered numerous times and I find myself trying to build a foundation on shattered pieces while my faith is faint whisper. And I don’t know where I’m going in this life but I’m holding on to God even if it is with the tips of my finger nails.

You probably stumbled upon this page during a continuous bout of insomnia or a random game of chance after hours of boredom from internet surfing. Well, anyway, me and my friends are glad you’re here and look forward to seeing your photo thumb nail grace our WordPress door.